Category: Uncategorized

The Uncertainty Principle is no longer limited to physics and quantum mechanics. It seems to have pervaded all of human existence; be it personal relationships, politics or the environment. There are three events in a person’s life that are poetically referred to as hatches (birth), matches (marriage) and despatches (death). It is natural to feel…

White Europeans dream of a White Christmas, as the old Christmas carol goes, with snow all around, to give them that Christmassy feeling. The same Europeans who have migrated to Australia in the southern hemisphere, where it is summer at Christmas time, reportedly create artificial snow, or use cotton wool to get the Christmas “effect”!…

We know the old adage that two wrongs do not make a right. We may also remember the three R’s –reading, riting and rithmetic. My three Rights are different, and not to be confused with the three Rites that have become the bane of the Catholic Church in India. The three Rights that I am…

(Based on a presentation at a public meeting organised by the All India Catholic Union at Mangalore on 26th November 2016) The topic that I have been asked to speak on is “Freedom of Religion in India – with special reference to the Christian community”. Let me begin with a rather audacious question. Do we…

School children wear uniforms, because they are vulnerable and impressionable; hence need a distinct identity and protection. However, when they grow into critically aware young adults entering college, they abandon their school uniforms. College campuses are a riot of colour, after the staid straight jackets of school kids. Is our country a mosaic of many…

(A background paper to assist stakeholders in responding to the Questionnaire prepared by the Law Commission) A. INTRODUCTION: The Law Commission (LC) of the Govt of India (GOI), headed by retired Supreme Court judge, Justice Dr B.S. Chauhan, has on 7/10/16 issued an Appeal and prepared a Questionnaire with 16 questions; seeking a response from…

Prima facie, such a topic is hardly debatable. Poverty is a curse, and prosperity is bliss. It brooks no argument; unless of course one is a Christian with a rudimentary knowledge of the Bible, and the orthopraxis of the Catholic Church. This “debate” entered my head while attending the 10th annual awards ceremony of the…

(George Menezes 10/4/1928 – 9/92016) Two years ago I did a review of the book “The Naked Liberal“, on anthology on George Menezes, written by Selma Carvalho.   I enjoyed reading the book, and also writing the review; because it was a labour of love for someone I loved, cherished and respected. Now he has crossed…

After watching the canonisation ceremony of Mother Teresa on TV on 4th September, I don’t know whether to yawn with ennui, or bang my fists with angst. I was not particularly enthused about Mother Teresa being declared a Saint, as I believed that, her human shortcomings notwithstanding, she was always a living saint, and did…

Surrogacy has been in the news, because a bill to close the floodgates on the surrogates is being introduced in Parliament. More than the issue of surrogacy itself, what really opened another floodgate was the statement of Shushma Swaraj, Minister of External Affairs, that gay couples would not be allowed to go for surrogacy, as…